


Snips, Snails, and Turtles Tails

by universal_idiiot



Category: Rise of the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles (Cartoon 2018), Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles - All Media Types
Genre: Canon Compliant, Canon-Typical Violence, Creepy Fluff, Cute Kids, Domestic Fluff, Emotional Hurt/Comfort, Fluff and Humor, Gen, Good Parent Splinter (TMNT), Hurt/Comfort, Mild Hurt/Comfort, No Smut, No Turtlecest (TMNT), Pre-Canon, Random & Short, Shorts, Slice of Life, Turtle Tots (TMNT), Weird Biology
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-08-18
Updated: 2020-08-18
Packaged: 2021-03-04 21:15:07
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 2
Words: 1,914
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/25372987
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/universal_idiiot/pseuds/universal_idiiot
Summary: I see a distinct lack of one shots about the turtles learning about their own biology, so I'm doing myself a favor.
Relationships: April O'Neil/Sunita (TMNT), Donatello & Leonardo & Michelangelo & April O'Neil & Raphael (TMNT), Donatello & Leonardo & Michelangelo & Raphael & Splinter (TMNT), Donatello & Leonardo & Michelangelo & Raphael (TMNT)
Comments: 3
Kudos: 68





	1. Raph's Baby Teeth

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Did you know Alligator Snapping Turtles can tear off fingers with their beaks?

Raph was a biter when he was a kid.

It wasn't too much of a problem when he was freshly mutated and still _way_ too small to go anywhere and do any real damage, but when he and his brothers became old enough to walk and talk and do things on their own without Splinter's constant monitoring, things got... a bit weird.

Soon, "teething"-- as Splinter had been calling it-- became more and more common and _more_ and _more_ damaging.

It became routine for Splinter to find chunks of fruit rinds littered over the kitchen table, shreds of stuffed animal carcasses spread out in the living room that Splinter had to hide before Mikey could see the massacre, and even literal splinters of sticks that had fallen through the sewer grates and had somehow found their way into Raph's grubby hands.

It finally hit a head when Splinter found Mikey cradling a sobbing Leo and Donnie wiping both tears and blood from Raphael's face.

"Boys," Splinter started, kneeling beside Leo, whos hands were wrapped haphazardly in gauze and bandages, "what happened here?"

"W-we, we were just playing an-and Raph--" Mikey was cut off when Leo shrieked "He _bit_ me!"

"I didn't mean to!" Raph cried out, a fresh wave of tears pouring over his cheeks.

"Doesn't matter, you still did it!"

"Blue, that's enough! Go to the kitchen, and Purple, you take Red and Orange to the bathroom to clean up." Splinter ordered, maybe a little harsher than intended, but the point got across and the four turtles scrambled to their spots. Splinter sighed and took Leo in his arm and led him to the kitchen, sitting him up on the kitchen table to take a look at the wound.

Once the dressing was removed, the rat-man was greeted with a nasty-- but manageable-- bite. Luckily, all of Leo's fingers were still attached and it didn't look deep, but the turtle's skin wa*mangled and stained a deep crimson red. While Leo had looked away, furiously wiping away tears, Splinter made quick work to grab his first aid kit. He cleaned the wound with some alcohol and wipes, soaking up any excess blood before pressing gauze onto his hand and wrapping it tightly with some clean bandages.

Splinter stood back and admired his handiwork, pressing a kiss to "make it feel better" before telling his son "now, don't take this off, and if it doesn't stop bleeding soon come back to me."

Leo hopped down, hugged his father, and proceeded to run off... somewhere. Splinter sighed and cleaned up the leftover mess, finishing just in time to see Raph walking into the kitchen, sniffling.

"Red, are you-- um, I mean, where are your brothers?" Splinter asked.

"Um, Don and Mikey are still washing up and I, uh, haven't s-seen Leo..." Raph mumbled, rubbing his arms nervously and holding back extra sobs. Splinter could sense the precariousness of the situation and knew he needed to be softer around his eldest.

He placed a gentle hand on Raph's shoulder and smiled down at him, "Hey, do you want to help me make a snack for Blue?"

Raph nodded, swiping at his nose and marching with a new determination to the fridge to find something nice for Leonardo. He pulled out some packaged fruit and leftover Chinese take-out while Splinter grabbed a plate from the cupboard. Thanking Raphael, he heated some beef lo-mein and chicken in the microwave while Raph popped open the fruit lids, sneaking a few pieces of canteloupe while Splinter-- allegedly-- wasn't looking.

Once it was finished, Raph placed the fruit on the plate and asked to take it to Leo himself. Splinter obliged and almost thought nothing of it until he heard a sharp intake of breath. He turned to see Raphael staring at the pile of bloodied bandages squashed into the trash can. Splinter cursed at himself for not thinking ahead and walked toward Raph quietly.

"Red, it's ok," he cooed softly, rubbing the top of Raph's head, "it wasn't your fault--"

"Yes it was!" Raph cried, hands shaking, "I mean, I didn't mean to, Pops, but we were just roughhousing and I just... his hand was too close to my mouth and I closed it too fast and he didn't get out of the way and I-- _and I_ \--"

Splinter shushed him, taking the plate from his son's hands and pulling him into a hug where he sobbed into the rat's chest.

"Raphael," he heard a soft gasp in his robe, "accidents happen. You didn't mean to hurt Blue, and that's what counts. It's all cleaned up, and your brother is alright. All you can do now is apologize and make sure it doesn't happen again. Ok?"

Raph nodded and took the plate from Splinter and walked out of the kitchen. Splinter watched as Raph, gently, knocked on Leo's bedroom door and walked in with his peace offering. Splinter smiled and got to work cleaning up the leftover mess, listening as the two brothers reconciled over leftovers and fruit and mishaps.


	2. Donnie's Secret Skill

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Did you know Softshell Turtles don't have beaks, so they have to swallow their food whole?

"Pops! Pops! Look, look at what Donnie can do!" Three shrill voices screeched as four little turtles tumbled through the living room.

Splinter turned his attention to his sons, corralling Donnie towards their father with abundant excitement, giggling like gremlins. They pushed their purple-clad brother to the center with a plate of microwave chicken nuggets in his shaking hands

Depsite his brothers jumping up and down with wicked grins, Donnie looked like he wanted to disappear into his shell, keeping his eyes downcast and awkwardly fidgeting with the bulky glasses on the bridge of his nose.

"Guys, c'mon, it's not _that_ great, it's really weird. Just let it go." Donnie begged quietly, but Leo's loud voice drowned him out.

"Pops, you won't believe what we just saw Donnie do! It was insane, show him, Don!" All brothers turned on Donnie, who's face burned red. Splinter almost had half the heart to tell his boys to leave their brother be, but all thoughts went out the window when Donatello _swallowed every single nugget at once._

Splinter felt his fur bristle and his body go stiff, a choked sound creaking out of his throat. He stared wide-eyed at his son who was now slinking back against his brothers, holding himself by his arms and keeping his eyes on the floor. The rest of the boys didn't seem to notice Donnie's discomfort, chatting about all the possible things Donnie could swallow whole and what was his limit. Before Splinter could say anything about it, they pulled Don away and into the kitchen. Splinter relaxed bit by bit after the initial shock and huffed, tiredly rubbing at his eyes. This had to be one of the weirdest things Splinter had seen any of them do so far.

Days passed, and it didn't seem that the turtles' fascination with Donatello's new "gift" had wavered. During supper, they'd hand Donnie different kinds of food of varying sizes to see if he could swallow it. Almost everything he ate was able to go down, save for a too-big turkey leg Raph had offered, and Splinter just had to stare in morbid curiosity as he ate his own meal.

Unfortunately, Donnie didn't seem as amused with his gift as the rest of his family. He started eating his meals in the solitude of his lab, only ever eating with his family when Splinter told him it was "family time" or Mikey begged him to try one of his experimental dishes with everyone. He'd started to snap at anyone who brought up eating anything before marching off angrily, refusing to entertain any new idea of what he could choke down. One time, Mikey had the unfortunate luck to find Donnie eating a sandwich and-- before he could say _anything_ \-- was kicked out of Don's lab with the sharp comment "Get out of here before I eat _you_ up!"

It was that incident, and Michelangelo's tears, that got Splinter in the middle of the issue.

Splinter knocked on the door of Donnie's lab, only entering when he heard a faint "Come in." Splinter stepped inside, taking note of the stacks of paper plates and piles of silverware littering the concrete floor, and made his way to Donnie, who was huddled over a plate of mismatched food. He met Splinter's eyes for a moment, looked at his own food, and sighed.

"Look, if you wanted to see me swallow all of my food, I'm not doing it anymore."

Splinter looked at him, curiously, and asked "Why not?"

Donnie looked at him incredulously, "Because it's disgusting! Nobody else can do it and it's freaky to watch and I _don't want to do it anymore!_ "

The turtle had tears in his eyes and his breathing was heavy. He was hunched over and the tremble of his lip revealed all too well that he was on the verge of tears. Splinter knelt to Donnie's level and wiped away the little turtle's tears before they fell over his cheeks.

"No, no, no, that's not what I meant!" Splinter backpedaled, "I just... I've been worried about you. You've been cooped up here for so long and you've been so angry, I didn't know if sw-- if it made you sick."

Donnie shook his head and sniffled, swatting away his father's hands and glowering at his lap.

"I hate when they look at me like a circus freak," he mumbled, "like, I don't know how they can enjoy watching it so much. It's gross and weird and I _hate it_." Donatello chucked his half-eaten meal with all the other plates and curled in on himself, hiding his beak in his arms. The tower of dishes toppled over and spilled leftovers all over the concrete floor.

Splinter sighed and moved to pick up the mess, begrudgingly followed by Donnie. Neither of talked, and Splinter had the inkling of a feeling that that's how Donnie liked it. He liked the quiet and didn't like expressing his feelings as much as his brothers. It helped him calm down. But the swell of tears the hiccuping breaths made Splinter's heart clench hard enough for him to ignore that.

"Purple, you know your brothers don't mean any harm by it, right?" Donnie nodded, short and sweet. "And you know that they wouldn't deliberately try to hurt you, right?" Another quick nod. "Good." Splinter set the plates on the ground and held Donnie by the shoulders, looking down into his puffy eyes. "How about once we clean this mess up, we both go talk to your brothers and tell them how it makes you feel. Then _you_ can decide when you want to use your... skill."

The softshell shuffled over and collapsed into Splinter's chest for a hug, the few plates he had been holding dropping to the floor.

"Thanks, pops," Donnie muttered and Splinter thought he could feel a small smile growing on the turtle.

Splinter and Donnie finished removing the hoards of paper plates and plastic silverware from the lab. After that, Splinter sat down the boys for a "family meeting" that left Leo, Mike, and Raph piling on top of Donnie in a crushing bear-hug, apologizing profusely and swearing they'd never do it again.

Splinter left them to themselves, and even though Donnie was shouting "let me go"'s and "it's fine, now leave me be"'s, he was sure he could see a faint smile on his son's face.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Can you tell I like hurt and comfort yet?  
> I'm gonna warn you, there is gonna be a fair bit of crying in these fics. It doesn't end here.  
> Next up is Leo!

**Author's Note:**

> Did you know Alligator Snapping Turtles can tear a finger clean off with their beaks, but still have a really weak bite?


End file.
